WINTON'S AIR CONDITIONING INC

11-13-2012 charged $199 for a preventive maintenance agreement, two visits per year
11-14-2012 charged $199 again and $1358 for the uv light system, supposed to come out and check up in 6 months
 as of 8--30-2013   9 months , no show, so called to set up appt. came out and said lightning had damaged unit charged $279 for a $37 surge protector and another $1358 for a uv unit, but they replaced the ballast and bulb, yet charged for a whole new unit,  we checked three other places and a unit like ours (one year bulb, single bulb costs approx$250 installed)  when we contacted credit card people they wanted us to attempt to resolve with wintons, so when we called they told us if we dared to get a lawyer involved they would put a lien against the home and we "could lose our home". we were directed to contact the sheriffs dept and submit a complaint because of a law in florida called "elderly exploitation"  we completed our visit with the sheriffs dept this am, they turn it over to a deputy that specializes in this and will make a determination if this is criminal or civil issue.  Our point of view is that not only did we pay an outrageous price these past 9 months, (same exact items from a competitor would have been about $410) instead of over three thousand, but that we paid twice for the PMA and twice for the UV system.

They were garbage. Even the BBB listed them as bad. Originally, a couple of years ago, I had a service contract with them. I called them back to do a service on our air conditioner. I had asked them not to cash the check for for the contract until the end of the month because I am on social security and disability and that doesn't clear until the 4th or 5th of the month. I said don't cash the check yet and they immediately cashed the check so I had a bounced check fee of $25 on my account. So I called them and asked what they are doing. I said, I wanted to cancel the contract and they said, we can't you have 2 days. I signed it on a Friday and this was a Monday, so it was on the third day which was over the weekend. I was stuck with the contract. They would call me up and say, you are due for a checkup. I would say, no thank you, I wanted to cancel the contract and they said well your contract is still good. I said I know but I don't want it. This has been going on for years. It was supposed to be only for one year but this is the 3rd year. They said they would still honor it. They came out and recharged my air conditioner with freon and then said, that will be $300. I said what? I thought I had a contract with you guys? They said, well that didn't include the freon. I said, well, it was supposed to. They don't care about the customers. Their punctuality is great, they'll jump on anything. There going to be there but they are going to rip you off.

They failed to fix the unit and it continued to pour water into my home, rather than outside.  They tech that came out from Winston did not fix the issue, instead they tried to up sell me on a new product.  I wrote them a letter and never heard anything back from the company. 

This company is non-responsive and unethical.  We ceased using them over 3 years ago, and they still harass us with phone calls and mailings.  They recently contacted my mother by phone after they have been asked on numerous occasions via telephone and mail to cease contacting her regarding the nonexistent contract for service they insist exists (they are not contracted and have not received any payment for same for over 3 years).  Another company has been servicing her unit for years, and they continue to contact her regardless of our requests that they cease and desist.  During the time they were contracted, they convinced her she needed thousands of dollars of work to "improve" the efficiency of cooling in her town home.  After performing this work the efficiency has had no improvement whatsoever!  After reviewing the work they did with a reputable HVAC company, it was readily apparent that what they claimed to have done was bogus and a rip off of a senior citizen.  They also overcharged her large amounts of money to unnecessarily replace ultraviolet bulbs yearly that should only need replacement every 5 years or so. their charge was 5 times what the current company charges. This company preys on elderly people who have no idea whether they need their so called 'services', and even continue to attempt the rip off after repeated requests to cease.  On this recent visit they sent out a service man to once again perform services they are not contracted to perform, and the service man was in the process of once again telling my mother her ultraviolet light needed replacement when I halted the process in person.  This ultraviolet light had just been inspected by her current company and was found fully functional! They will insist that they called and my mother gave them permission to make the service call (she is an Alzheimer's patient).  However, they will fail to acknowledge that they have been instructed on multiple occasions to MAKE NO CONTACT!

I was told that I had mold on my air conditioning unit. They quoted $1,259 to fix the mold, plus the extra couple hundred for a surge protector they said I needed. Instead, I signed up for their maintenance program (2 checks per year). They came twice during the year per the maintenance contract. Recently I received a call offering that they would come check the air conditioning unit for $30. They came and the technician said I needed new ducts. I was told for $4000, I could get new ducts (and they have financing available for me). I've had a second and third opinion and both told me that I didn't need new ducts and I was also told that the mold on my air conditioning unit could easily be wiped off. This is the second time I was told I needed things that I didn't need. I was over quoted thousands of dollars and I feel scammed.

Poorly. Service was 7 lbs freon plus dye pack for freon leak. No change in cooling after $1000 bill. Was refused contact from office. Check was put on hold due to lack of contact. Several lies were presented. Threatened with lien on house and court action. Second party called, found leak within ten minutes of arrival. Provided excellent information regarding the leak.

I got very lousy service, and I found them to be very arrogant. When I called them back out when no warm air was coming out, they said it must have been a dirty filter, although they just installed the unit two weeks before. The temperature is not consistent, and when I called another company, they came and rectified almost everything. I am still not happy with the unit, and I will absolutely never call Winton's under any circumstances. I have yet to receive my rebate for the unit, and they have yet to respond. They will not stand by their warranty, and I just found them to be unreasonable, unhelpful, and dishonest in every way. They gave us a faulty thermostat, and the other contractor who came out later said it appears that Winton's only replaced the outside unit and did absolutely nothing inside. I am very unhappy with this company and would not recommend that anyone use them.

They are always very prompt and professional. I have two housing units and I'm on their maintenance plan where you get three free inspections on each unit. I had a very good experience with them. My air conditioner works fine. The last person they sent out I wasn't real happy about. He told me that my filter hadn't been changed because they couldn't find one the last time. He wasn't very cooperative and I had to go back and call the company and tell them that I paid for a new filter but hadn't received one. He didn't do it he just said that you need to get a new one.

It was about $5,000 for the new compressor and air conditioning unit to be installed. I have had trouble with this unit from day one for three years. My electric bill kept going up after about six months after the unit was installed. They finally fixed the problem that was causing my electric bill to rise, but I had problems the following two years as well. I have spent quite a bit of extra money by having them service the unit. They would give me a hard time when I would call to have the unit serviced. They would also sometimes have an appointment to come out and just not show up. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

The repair man did not perform all aspects of a quality tune up, he skipped many steps. When I called to have it actually finished, they said they could send him back, and I said send somebody else. They said it would take a little while because of the holiday, and I have not heard from them since. It has been a week.

THE GUY WAS HERE FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES AND SAID HE DID A LOT OF WORK AND THAT HE WENT UP INTO THE ATTIC, WHICH I NEVER SAW HIM DO. WHEN HE LEFT, THE PROBLEM THAT I HAD WAS STILL THERE, I HAD THEN SIGNED UP FOR A MAINTENANCE PLAN. THEY DID SEND SOMEONE BACK OUT AND THEY CLAIMED THAT HE CLEANED THE COILS AGAIN, I THEN STOPPED PAYMENT ON THE MAINTENANCE PLAN (BEFORE THE SECOND PERSON CAME OUT) AND ENDED UP HAVING TO PAY FOR THE SECOND PERSON TO COME OUT.

THEY DID NOT SHOW UP ON TIME EVER. I GOT THE FEELING THAT THEY WERE CHARGING ME FOR THINGS THAT WERE NOT NEEDED. HAD TO CALL THEM BACK TIME AFTER TO TIME TO COME BACK AND SERVICE THE ERRORS. IF ANYONE IS THINKING OF USING THEM, PLEASE LOOK FOR BBB RATING. NO RESOLUTION TO THE PROBLEMS.

I HAVE A SERVICE CONTRACT WITH THEM BUT I WOULD NOT USE THEM AGAIN, BECAUSE I FELT LIKE THEY OVERCHARGED ME.

REGARDING THEIR SERVICE, THEY COME OUT EVERY SIX MONTHS LIKE CLOCKWORK.

SINCE MY UNIT WAS STILL BROKEN I CALLED WINTON'S BACK. IN THE PROCESS OF THAT PHONE CALL I REALIZED THAT I WAS OVER CHARGED A TOTAL OF $85 ON MY ORIGINAL BILL. ON AUGUST 23 A DIFFERENT TECHNICIAN DID COME OUT TO MY HOME TO REPLACE THE THERMOSTAT AT A COST OF $210 MINUS THE $85 OVERCHARGE ON MY PREVIOUS BILL. SO $516 ($385+$125+$6)LATER I GOT A NEW THERMOSTAT. THE PEOPLE FROM WINTON'S WERE POLITE AND THEY DID ARRIVE WHEN THE WERE SCHEDULED TO BE THERE HOWEVER ,I WOULD HAVE TO RATE THE COMPANY WITH A GRADE OF "D" BECAUSE THEY DID NOT DO THE JOB RIGHT THE FIRST TIME AND BECAUSE OF THEIR POOR REPUTATION IN THE COMMUNITY.

GOOD COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY!

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I NEEDED MY AIR CONDITIONER SERVICED AND ASKED FOR AN ESTIMATE ON REPLACING THE INSULATION ON THE DUCTS WHICH HAS BEEN EATEN BY RODENTS. THE REPAIRMAN REFUSED TO CRAWL UNDER THE HOUSE, CLAIMING HE WAS 'TOO LARGE' AND WOULDN'T FIT. MY ELECTRICIAN, ABOUT THE SAME SIZE, HAD NO PROBLEM GETTING UNDER THERE AND WORKING. HE OFFERED TO CLEAN THE COILS. I ASKED HOW THIS WAS DONE AND HE SAID HE WOULD SPRAY W/CHEMICALS AND THEN HOSE IT OFF. THE COST WAS $150 OR $199 IF I WANTED TO BUY A SIX MONTH CONTRACT. SEEMS AWFULLY EXPENSIVE FOR OPENING THE UNIT AND SQUIRTING CHEMICAL ON THE COILS!